Air quality comparison · Mozambique, 719 km apart
Beira vs Maputo Air quality index (AQI) today
Beira has cleaner air than Maputo right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 48 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Maputo averaged AQI 38 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Beira has lost more forest since 2001. Maputo has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Beira27Maputo48
Head to head
Beira vs Maputo at a glance
Beira and Maputo are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Beira | Maputo | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 27 (better) | 48 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 5.6 (better) | 8.6 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 46 | 38 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 334 ha | 25 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 7.6% | 15.0% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 32.6K (better) | 43.6K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Beira and Maputo right now?
Beira has cleaner air than Maputo right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 48 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
BeiraMaputo
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
Beira: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Maputo: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Maputo averaged AQI 38 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Beira3Maputo3
- Average AQI
- Beira46Maputo38
- Worst day, AQI
- Beira56Maputo58
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Beira | Maputo |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 56 | 58 |
| Nov 6 | 52 | 58 |
| Nov 7 | 53 | 30 |
| Nov 8 | 56 | 17 |
| Nov 9 | 36 | 25 |
| Nov 10 | 22 | 41 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Beira and Maputo today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Beira and Maputo compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Beira's air is cleaner than 83% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Maputo's is cleaner than 63%. Within Mozambique, that is 81% and 44% of its 17 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Beira
- Beats 83%
- Maputo
- Beats 63%
More tree cover than…
- Beira
- Beats 15%
- Maputo
- Beats 34%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which has lost more forest, Beira or Maputo?
Beira has lost more: about 334 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 25 ha around Maputo. 43 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Measured within 10 km of each center, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: a wider circle than the one for tree cover, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Worst year: 2019, with 185 ha lost.
Worst year: 2009, with 4 ha lost.
| Beira | Maputo | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 334 ha | 25 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 17% (better) | 17% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 43 ha | 25 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Storms, floods and other natural causes (56%) | Towns and roads (91%) |
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Beira
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
Maputo
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Beira or Maputo?
Maputo has more tree cover: 15.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 7.6% around Beira, or about 43,637 trees against 11,055.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Beira | Maputo | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 11.1K | 43.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 32.6K (better) | 43.6K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 243K kg | 960K kg (better) |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Beira vs Maputo: your questions answered
Is Beira cleaner than Maputo?
On air quality, yes, right now: Beira reads AQI 27 against 48, a gap of 21 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Maputo averaged AQI 38 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Beira and Maputo today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Beira reads AQI 27 and Maputo reads AQI 48.
Which has lost more forest, Beira or Maputo?
Beira has lost more: about 334 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 25 ha around Maputo. 43 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Beira or Maputo?
Maputo has more tree cover: 15.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 7.6% around Beira, or about 43,637 trees against 11,055. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Beira and Maputo need?
Beira needs about 32,582 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Maputo about 43,637 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Beira and Maputo measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Beira vs Maputo comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Sep 16, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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